The Cocos Islands are pretty small and are not too far away from the Christmas Island. The two small islands make up about 5.5 square miles. The approximate number that inhabits the Cocos Islands is 600.
On this day November 23rd, in 1955, control over the Cocos Islands, located between Sri Lanka and Australia, is handed over from the United Kingdom to Australia. The United Kingdom had taken control over the island in 1857.
The Clunies-Ross company had a thing for this island. At first one of the brothers who owned the company wanted to control the Cocos, and another was hired by an Englishman to take control of the land. Clunies-Ross payed workers in Cocos Rupees, which could only be used at the company store. The Clunies-Ross family continued to control the island until Australia’s government practically forced the family out of control.